Editing The Final Problem (section)

==Adaptations==

===Film===

"The Final Problem" was adapted as a 1923 silent short film as part of the [[Sherlock Holmes (Stoll film series)|Stoll film series]], starring [[Eille Norwood]] as Holmes and [[Hubert Willis]] as Watson, with [[Percy Standing]] as Moriarty.<ref>{{cite book |last=Eyles|first=Alan|title=Sherlock Holmes: A Centenary Celebration |url=https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle|url-access=registration|year=1986 |publisher=Harper & Row |page=[https://archive.org/details/sherlockholmesce0000eyle/page/132 132] |isbn=0-06-015620-1}}</ref>

The 1931 film ''[[The Sleeping Cardinal]]'', the first film in the [[Sherlock Holmes (1931 film series)|1931–1937 film series]] starring [[Arthur Wontner]] as Holmes, is based in part on "[[The Adventure of the Empty House]]" and "The Final Problem." The scene from "The Final Problem" in which Moriarty confronts Holmes at Baker Street and attempts to persuade Holmes to stop his investigations is used in ''[[The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1935), another film in the series.

In the [[Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)|1939–1946 film series]] starring [[Basil Rathbone]] as Holmes and [[Nigel Bruce]] as Watson, a number of films borrow elements from "The Final Problem". Most noticeable of these elements are the methods of killing Moriarty off; in ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (film)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' (1939), ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon]]'' (1942) and ''[[The Woman in Green]]'' (1945), Moriarty is seen in all three films falling from a great height to his death. ''The Woman in Green'' contains a variation on the conversation between Holmes and Moriarty in Baker Street, as well as the idea of Moriarty manipulating Watson out of the way by hoaxing an injured Englishwoman who requires his treating.

The 2011 film ''[[Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows]]'' is based in part on "The Final Problem".<ref>{{cite web|first=Chris |last=Tilly |url= https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/02/22/sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-shadows-preview |title=Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Preview|website=IGN |date=2011-02-22 |access-date=2020-06-06}}</ref> Like the story, it ends with Holmes and Moriarty plummeting into the falls, and Watson is shown writing the final sentences of "The Final Problem" on his typewriter. However, in the film, the characters are attending a European Peace Conference held near the falls which Moriarty seeks to sabotage, and the two plunge down from a balcony overlooking the falls rather than from the ledge of the original story. Holmes is also shown falling over the edge with Moriarty rather than simply being assumed to have fallen, being too injured to defeat Moriarty in a straight fight but knowing that Moriarty will go after Watson if he lives. While Holmes is shown to have survived, having used his brother's oxygen inhaler to survive the water at the bottom of the falls, Moriarty's fate is less certain.

===Television===

The Soviet television film series ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson]]'' (1979–1986) adapted "The Final Problem" as "The Deadly Fight" (and "The Adventure in the Empty House" as "Hunt for the Tiger").

In the television series ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' starring [[Jeremy Brett]], the 1985 episode based on the story begins with the theft of the ''[[Mona Lisa]]'', masterminded by Moriarty in order to sell prepared fakes to collectors. Holmes recovers the original painting just before Moriarty makes a sale to a "Mr. Morgan". Holmes's interference with his plans convinces Moriarty that the detective must be eliminated, and Holmes is subsequently presumed to have died in a tumble down the Reichenbach Falls. This was the last episode to star [[David Burke (British actor)|David Burke]] as Dr. Watson. Burke was replaced by [[Edward Hardwicke]] until the end of the show's run, starting with the adaptation of "The Empty House" which acted as the first episode of ''The Return of Sherlock Holmes''.

The [[BraveStarr]] episode "Sherlock Holmes in the 23rd Century" begins with a revised version of the climax of "The Final Problem", in which only Holmes plummets down Reichenbach Falls, but instead of falling to his doom, he falls into a natural time warp that transports him into the year 2249. 

The first episode of the animated television series ''[[Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century]]'' (1999–2001) begins with the climax of "The Final Problem", where it is later revealed in the second episode that while Holmes managed to survive the fall by grabbing a tree branch and would go on to solve many more cases (later being entombed in honey upon his death of old age, which preserved his body enough to be revitalized in the 22nd century), Moriarty had indeed perished and was buried by Holmes himself, preserved in ice in a freezing cave. Holmes, the robotic Watson and Inspector Beth Lestrade later visit the burial site at Reichenbach Falls to confirm Moriarty's death upon news of a lookalike causing a crime spree in New London. Upon seeing a drill hole in the ice, Holmes surmises that the new Moriarty is in fact a clone with all the original's memories and skills.

The two part sixth season finale of ''Monk,'' "Mr. Monk is on the Run" (2008), is loosely inspired by both "The Final Problem and "The Empty House." Adrian Monk is supposedly shot over a pier after being accused of murder, only to be alive in the second part. The orchestrator is revealed to be Dale "the Whale" Biederbeck, described as "the Genghis Khan of world finance," much like Moriarty as "the Napoleon of Crime."

Episode three of the first season of BBC's [[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]], titled [[The Great Game (Sherlock)|The Great Game]] shows a variation of the part where Moriarty confronts Holmes at Baker Street in the story.<ref>Mark Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. DVD audio commentary for ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'': "[[The Great Game (Sherlock)|The Great Game]]".</ref> The story is also the basis of the episode "[[The Reichenbach Fall]]"(Season 2, Episode 3), which first aired on 15 January 2012 and shows Holmes falling from the roof of [[St Bartholomew's Hospital]] in [[London]], supposedly leading to his death.<ref name="ign-kapow">{{cite web |first=Leigh |last=Singer|title=Kapow! 11: Ideal Holmes|date= 10 April 2011 |url= https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/04/10/kapow-11-ideal-holmes |work=IGN|access-date=2020-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC One's BAFTA-nominated Sherlock begins filming second series|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/05_may/16/sherlock.shtml |work=BBC Press Office |date=2011-05-16 |access-date=2011-05-16}}</ref> Throughout a confrontation between Sherlock and Jim Moriarty in Baker Street, Moriarty repeatedly utters the phrase "the final problem". The special episode of ''Sherlock'', "[[The Abominable Bride]]", which was broadcast on 1 January 2016, featured a re-creation of the showdown between Sherlock and Moriarty set in Victorian times, as depicted in the book. The [[The Final Problem (Sherlock)|2017 series finale of ''Sherlock'']] is named for this story, but bears little to no resemblance to the canon.

The 2012 series finale of the American medical drama ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''—which was inspired by the Sherlock Holmes stories—sees Dr. [[Gregory House]] fake his own death, in an ode to "The Final Problem".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/series-finale-review-house-everybody-dies-keep-me-in-your-heart-for-a-while|title=Series Finale Review: 'House' - "Everybody Dies' Keep Me in Your Heart for a While|last1=Sepinwall|first1=Alan|date=22 May 2012|website=[[HitFix|HitFix.com]]|access-date=31 December 2014}}</ref>

The 2013 Russian television series ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2013 TV series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' adapted "The Final Problem" as "Holmes' Last Case".

The 2018 [[HBO Asia]]/[[Hulu Japan]] series ''[[Miss Sherlock]]'' loosely adapts this story for its series finale "The Dock." In this version, the famous scene at the Reichenbach Falls is replaced by an analogous scene set at a fictional "Reichenbach Building" in Tokyo.

The 2019 penultimate episode (Season 7 Episode 12) of the CBS adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, ''[[Elementary (TV series)|Elementary]]'', was titled "Reichenbach Falls", and portrayed Sherlock's ploy to bring down a powerful serial killer billionaire, Odin Reichenbach. Holmes fakes his death on a bridge, which puts Odin Reichenbach under investigation for the murder of Sherlock Holmes and thereby exposes Reichenbach's past crimes.

The 2024 Indian Television series [[Shekhar Home]] remaking the adaptation of the BBC's Sherlock in its last episode also adapts the climax of the story where the   titular character Shekhar falls down the Howrah bridge with Jaimini Maurya(James Moriarty).  

===Radio===
"The Final Problem" was loosely adapted for multiple episodes of the American radio series ''[[The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (radio series)|The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'' starring [[Richard Gordon (actor)|Richard Gordon]] as Sherlock Holmes and Leigh Lovell as Dr. Watson, including episodes titled "Murder in the Waxworks" (March 1932),<ref>Dickerson (2019), p. 41.</ref> "The Adventure of the Ace of Spades" (May 1932),<ref>Dickerson (2019), p. 42.</ref> and "Murder by Proxy" (January 1933).<ref>Dickerson (2019), p. 50.</ref>

The story was later adapted for radio by John Kier Cross; it was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1954 and starred [[John Gielgud]] as Holmes and [[Ralph Richardson]] as Dr. Watson, with [[Orson Welles]] as Professor Moriarty.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Waal |first=Ronald Burt |title=The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes |year=1974 |publisher=Bramhall House |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/384 384] |isbn=0-517-217597 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa|url-access=registration}}</ref> The production was also broadcast on [[NBC]] radio on 17 April 1955.<ref>Dickerson (2019), p. 287.</ref>

[[Felix Felton]] adapted the story as a radio adaptation which aired on the [[BBC Home Service]] in March 1955 as part of the [[Sherlock Holmes (1952 radio series)|1952–1969 radio series]] starring [[Carleton Hobbs]] as Holmes and [[Norman Shelley]] as Watson, with [[Ralph Truman]] as Moriarty.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Waal |first=Ronald Burt |title=The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes |year=1974 |publisher=Bramhall House |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/385 385] |isbn=0-517-217597 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa|url-access=registration}}</ref> Another dramatisation of the story adapted by Felton aired on the BBC Home Service in November 1957, again starring Hobbs and Shelley, with Felton playing Moriarty.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Waal |first=Ronald Burt |title=The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes |year=1974 |publisher=Bramhall House |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/386 386] |isbn=0-517-217597 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa|url-access=registration}}</ref> Hobbs and Shelley also starred as Holmes and Watson in a 1967 [[BBC Light Programme]] adaptation of the story which was adapted by [[Michael Hardwick]].<ref>{{cite book |last=De Waal |first=Ronald Burt |title=The World Bibliography of Sherlock Holmes |year=1974 |publisher=Bramhall House |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa/page/392 392] |isbn=0-517-217597 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldbibliograph00dewa|url-access=registration}}</ref>

"The Final Problem" was dramatized for [[BBC Radio 4]] in 1992 by [[Bert Coules]] as part of the [[Sherlock Holmes (1989 radio series)|1989–1998 radio series]] starring [[Clive Merrison]] as Holmes and [[Michael Williams (actor)|Michael Williams]] as Watson. It featured [[Michael Pennington]] as Professor Moriarty, [[Frederick Treves (actor)|Frederick Treves]] as Colonel Moran, [[Sean Arnold]] as Inspector Patterson, [[Terence Edmond]] as Steiler, [[Richard Pearce (British actor)|Richard Pearce]] as Jenkinson, and [[Norman Jones (actor)|Norman Jones]] as Sir George.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://merrisonholmes.com/memoirs.php
|title=The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
|access-date=12 December 2016
|website=The BBC complete audio Sherlock Holmes 
|author=Bert Coules}}</ref>

An episode of ''[[The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]]'', a series on the American radio show ''[[Imagination Theatre]]'', combined "The Final Problem" with the events of "[[The Adventure of the Empty House|The Empty House]]". The episode, titled "The Return of Sherlock Holmes", aired in 2009, and starred [[John Patrick Lowrie]] as Holmes and Lawrence Albert as Watson.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.old-time.com/otrlogs2/classicsh_sw.log.pdf |website=Old-Time Radio |title=The Classic Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Broadcast Log |last=Wright |first=Stewart |date=30 April 2019 |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref>

===Other media===
[[William Gillette]]'s 1899 stage play ''[[Sherlock Holmes (play)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' is based on several stories, among them "The Final Problem." Films released in [[Sherlock Holmes (1916 film)|1916]] (starring Gillette as Holmes) and [[Sherlock Holmes (1922 film)|1922]] (starring [[John Barrymore]]), both titled ''Sherlock Holmes'', and a 1938 ''[[The Mercury Theatre on the Air|Mercury Theatre on the Air]]'' radio adaptation titled ''The Immortal Sherlock Holmes'', starring [[Orson Welles]] as Holmes, were based on the play. However, in none of these retellings does Holmes die (and indeed in the two film versions he marries).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurytheatre.info/ |title=The Mercury Theatre on the Air |publisher=Mercurytheatre.info |access-date=2012-03-28}}</ref>

In 1975, [[DC Comics]] published ''Sherlock Holmes'' #1, a comic book which adapted both "The Final Problem" and "The Adventure of the Empty House".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astudyinsherlock.net/2006/05/28/dc-holmes-1/ |title=DC Comics: Sherlock Holmes #1 |publisher=A Study in Sherlock |date=2006-05-28 |access-date=2012-03-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430193359/http://www.astudyinsherlock.net/2006/05/28/dc-holmes-1/ |archive-date=30 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> It was intended to be an ongoing series, but future issues were canceled due to low sales.

The 1999 comic series ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume One]]'' by [[Alan Moore]] and [[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O'Neill]] briefly adapts "The Final Problem" in issue #5 and shows Holmes triumphing over Moriarty and climbing the cliff, although Moriarty survives as well. The [[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|film adaptation]] references these events, but does not show them; the novelization copies the event almost verbatim from the graphic novel.

An arc of the Japanese manga series ''[[Moriarty the Patriot]]'', a series featuring a young Moriarty as a crime consultant, is named after the Japanese translation of the story's title. The final two episodes, "The Final Problem Act 1" and "The Final Problem Act 2", feature Sherlock and William (Moriarty) falling from Tower Bridge to River Thames, though revealed that both of them are alive and in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2020-11-03/moriarty-the-patriot-manga-the-final-problem-arc-reaches-climax-in-14th-volume/.165934 |title=Moriarty the Patriot Manga's 'The Final Problem' Arc Reaches Climax in 14th Volume |website=Anime News Network |last=Mateo |first=Alex |date=3 November 2020 |access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>